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3oth Annual Oregon Brewer's Festival 7/26-7/30

The Oregon Brewers Festival got its start in July 1988 as the brainchild of Art Larrance, founder of Portland Brewing Co. He had been to Oktoberfest in Munich and wanted to create a similar atmosphere while exposing locals to the variety of good microbrews. Back then, there were only four microbreweries in operation in Portland: BridgePort, McMenamins, Portland and Widmer.

Art approached them all to determine their interest in participating in a festival. McMenamins agreed to participate, but declined being an organizer. The remaining three – Widmer, BridgePort and Portland Brewing – established the Portland Brewers Festival Association of Oregon and set off to put on the first festival.

The founders didn’t know it at the time, but they had a great concept on their hands. Today, the Oregon Brewers Festival is one of the nation’s longest running and best loved craft beer festivals; it’s also one the largest of its kind. Located on the west bank of the Willamette River, with majestic Mt. Hood as a backdrop, it is the ideal venue for beer lovers to congregate. With a laid-back attitude and scores of beers, the festival embodies the spirit of the city of Portland, and is the crowning jewel of Oregon Craft Beer Month.

Portland – often referred to as Beervana – is currently the #1 large metro area for beer tourism, according to Travelocity’s Beer Tourism Index, so it’s no surprise the Oregon Brewers Festival is also considered a destination. An estimated 80,000 people annually travel from all parts of the world to drink up what the festival has to offer, and they spend money while they’re here; the Oregon Brewers Festival infuses around $30 million each year to the local economy.

WHO WANTS TO BE IN A PARADE???? I DO!
Following the Brewers Brunch on Wednesday, July 26, is the Brewers Parade, which starts at 11:30am and is open to all ages. You do NOT need a ticket to walk in the parade.. More than 600 beer lovers will walk from The Redd at 831 SE Salmon Street, cross the Hawthorne Bridge over the Willamette River, and end up on the grounds of the Oregon Brewers Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. We’ll be led by the sounds of Brass Roots Movement.

If you wish to get into the Oregon Brewers Festival gates with those from the brunch to watch the opening ceremonies, you are required to have a wristband. We will have a security guard posted at the start of the parade from 11 to 11:30am. You will have to have your ID checked to get a wristband. Those with wristbands will enter the festival grounds at Pine Street Esplanade and Naito Parkway. Those without a wristband will have to get in line and have their ID checked at any of the other three OBF entrances. We will also be selling tokens and extra mugs at the doors to the brunch (cash only), so if you want to avoid the token/mug line at the fest, we’ve got you covered!

This year’s Grand Marshal is John DeBenedetti of F.H. Steinbart Company. F.H. Steinbart was founded in 1918 by Frank H. Steinbart. Throughout prohibition the business stayed open, selling wine making supplies for sacramental purposes, and near beer and soda supplies to local Portland breweries like Henry Weinhard. As the craft beer movement exploded in the 1980s and 90s, F.H. Steinbart Co. was at the forefront of the trend providing bulk hops and grains for emerging breweries like Bridgeport, Cartwright, McMenamins, and Widmer. The business is now owned by John DeBenedetti, son of Frank H. Steinbart’s Joseph DeBenedetti. F.H. Steinbart Co. continues to provide a wide range of products and services to home and professional brewers, wine, and cider makers throughout Portland and the Pacific Northwest.http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/festival/parade/